3girlsmommy

We LOVE free!!

2009-05-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

So, today when I opened the mailbox, a nice size box was in there (I just LOVE going to the mailbox these days, theres almost always something out there!!!) filled with some AWESOME products compliments of John Frieda! They have a new Root Awakenings line of haircare out and sent me 2 full size bottles for my use along with samples and coupons to give away to friends! I tried the products which are designed to stimulate the scalp and roots of your hair, and I really love them! My hair is damaged from coloring at home for 17+ years, and this product really made it feel softer and it smells GREAT! I'm really excited about this stuff and am hoping a deal comes along at one of the local stores :)

Suuu Weet! awesome shopping day!

2009-04-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hey all! (well, all you 2 or 3 who read my blog LOL!) just an update about my awesome shopping day today. I was excited to have a great trip to Walgreen's and Target (especially after the trouble I had at CVS yesterday-I was really disappointed with their advertising

Here is a pic of what I got at Walgreens:

I was really happy with these deals especially that scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner-I have been wanting to get one for a while but I AINT paying 25 bucks for the thang! LOL! So luckily I ran across a post about it last night: on sale at Wags for 13.99 plus a 3.00 RR-and go to the scrubbing bubbles site to print out a 7.00 coupon!!! so it was like I got it for 3.99 (actually it was basically free because I paid with RR's yay!)

The soleil razors were on sale for 1.59-I had two 2.00 q's and used RR's to pay most of the balance. The quattro was on sale for 8.99 with a 3.00RR and I had a 4.00 coupon, again paid mostly with RR's from a couple of weeks ago.

The got2b products are 2/10 and you get a 5.00 RR, I had two 2.00 coupons, and the nivea soap was 4.99 with a 5.00 RR, I had a dollar coupon.

All in all I spent under 7.00 out of pocket, left with a bunch of RR's and got all this!! wahoo!

The target trip was fun too, I was really hoping to find some shorts for Callie (8yr old) but all they had were shorty shorts-what makes them think everyone wants their child to wear those? why cant they make them a decent length without having to buy a bermuda length??? ugh! anyway, I wound up buying a clearanced outfit for Samantha instead. here's what I got:

those glade candles are 5.79, and if you buy 2 you get a 5.00 target card. I had 2 of the 4.00 off coupons that reset a while back, so I did that transaction first and paid like 4.00 out of pocket. I then used the 5.00 card to pay for the rest - the vitamin waters were a buck each and I had 1.00 off coupons, the outfit was 5.80 total so I wound up spending like a little over 2.00 out of pocket. the cashier refused the axe coupons because they were for 1.00 and the product was only .97 but I went by customer service on the way out and they entered the coupons at .97 so I paid .47 out of pocket for the 6 of them! so all in all, under 7.00 got me all this! yippee! great shopping day for me!

the best part was, while we were in Madison, we got to meet my husband for a picnic

CVS'ing - getting the hang of this!!!!!

2009-04-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist adding a comment about my CVS trip today:

I got a coupon for 10.00 off a 50.00 purchase, which at CVS isnt a lot of money but more than I would usually consider spending...but I ran across a post about the Aveeno deal this week (spend 25 get a 10 ECB) and realized that would get me at least halfway to the 50.00 so decided to see what I could come up with...I wound up getting

2 Aveeno Sunblocks for 18.00(one had a free lip care attached!)

1 Aveeno Moisturizer for 15.00

2 Revlon lipsticks for 7.99

2 johnsons buddies soaps for 2.38

1 Edge shaving gel for 2.88

1 Crest toothpaste for 2.88

I used the 10.00 off 50.00 coupon

a - 10.00 off three aveeno products from the aveeno website

2 - 1.00 off aveeno suncare coupons from the walgreens easy saver booklet

a - 1.00 off crest whitening toothpaste from a flyer I found at publix a while back

2 - 2.00 off revlon coupons from the publix green flyer

1 - 2.00 off revlon coupon from the paper (it must have been expired because I cant find where it was listed - they took it anyway!)

1 - 1.00 off revlon coupon from the paper (it must have been expired because I cant find where it was listed - they took it anyway!)

2 - 1.00 off Johnsons buddies soaps

to make a long story short, I spent 14.50 out of pocket(after coupons and 5.99 in ECB-total saved was 56.61) and received 14.88 in ECB!!!!!!!!!!!! all those products PLUS a .38 profit! woohooo!!

Publix Trip 2/14

2009-02-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

I had a good trip to Publix today. Samantha was fairly good (thanks in large part to the samples they give out!) so I was able to get in and out quickly-well I would have EXCEPT-I forgot my debit card at home so after getting all the way through shopping and checkout I realized I couldnt pay :(:(:(!!! What a nightmare! Luckily for me, at Publix the cashiers are able to save your transaction in case of emergencies! Even more luckily, my father in law was nearby so he was able to come bail me out instead of me having to go all the way back home! Here's what I got today:

Total Before savings: 113.73

Total out of pocket: 49.21

Total savings of: 64.52

I had a really great Rite Aid Coupon for 10.00 of a 30.00 purchase which of course they honored-they are just so eager to please at Publix. It is a pleasure shopping there!

Basket Full of Kisses Giveaway

2009-02-10T04:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, can you believe it was ME who won the coffee lover's giveaway at http://www.southernplate.com/?? I am sooo thrilled I just can't stand it! Can't wait to get my new coffeemaker and grinder from Hamilton Beach!

go on over to her site today-she is giving away a basket full of lipsticks and lip glosses this time! What an awesome prize right at Valentine's day! I am pretty sure there's no chance I will win but I would LOVE if one of my friends did! While you're there, check out the yummy recipes- Chicken Planks is my latest favorite!

These babies were soooo easy to make and my family scarfed them down-even my hubby who is a bit snobby about his fried chicken :D

Hooked on coupons worked for me!!!

2009-02-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, well I am pretty proud of what I got today at Publix! I still can't match Jessalee's savings, but I don't have the room to keep all that stuff either so I am still just stocking up a little at a time. I do plan next week to start trying to give back by purchasing items to donate to LCCI. I think next week I am going to shop on Wednesday though so I won't have to take Samantha-what a nightmare!! It is just such a hassle to try to shop with a toddler, especially Sami. She is very uncooperative! Anyway, here is the picture of my purchases today:

There was so much stuff I had to get up on the chair and take the picture at a downward angle for it all to show. This is the most I have bought in one trip since starting couponing. You can't see it but Samantha is saying "cheese" behind the milk. She ran and jumped in the chair when I got out the camera! So cute it made up for being a monster at the store :D!! One of these days I will have the energy to post every line item but for now:

Total Before Savings: 116.92

Total out of pocket: 53.95

Total Savings of: 62.97

I have set a goal (suggested by Jessalee-thanks honey!) of saving more than I spend each week! So, I am doing good so far! I have tried to show this to a few of my friends because after a couple of weeks, it gets easier and easier to spot the savings. I never thought I would be doing this but it is really becoming addicting! I could talk/think about it ALL day LOL!! I am especially happy to be shopping at Publix these days, a place I'd once labeled as the "expensive" store. NOT!!

coffe maker giveaway

2009-02-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Hey, all the people who are reading this - wouldnt you like to win a FREE coffee maker AND grinder? head on over to www.southernplate.com for a chance! While you're there, check out the awesome recipes!! A few personal faves: Southern Steak with milk gravy and the Meatloaf!

More stuff

2009-02-03T04:49:00.000-08:00

I'm still not confining myself to a budget so I've picked up a few more items here and there:

I got these 10 lean cuisines at Kroger where they were on sale for 1.88 - I had bought 2 earlier in the week when I got the chicken, but when I was in WalMart and noticed that they were over 3.00 each I decided to go back and get a few more (stockpiling!)

My total before Sale prices: 25.16
Total out of pocket: 12.24
Savings of: 12.92

I thought that was pretty darn good-and now I have stuff around here to eat for lunch instead of munching out on junk or going out and wasting money on fast food!!

Yesterday I went to WalGreens-I still just don't like shopping there, and from the posts I've been reading I can see that its a common feeling. Most WAGS just don't seem to want you to save money on the "couponing" system. I read where one lady said when they saw her coming in with her ads and coupons they looked at her like a thief!! That's exactly how I feel when they examine every inch of my coupon (like its counterfeit or something??!!) and then call a manager up to ask if I can use it! Come on people-if it scans then its a good coupon-your register programmers are not stupid!!! But, the deals are too good to pass up for now:

I got these three bottles of mouthwash for next to nothing!! they were on sale 3 for $9 with a $3 RR (register reward) when you buy 3. I also had coupons for 2.00 off each bottle-so basically I spent $3 on 3 bottles and got $3 back-all I paid was the tax before coupons - $0.72!!

Total before sale prices: 12.09
Total out of pocket: .72 (after the 3.00 RR)
total savings: 11.37

So, now I have 3.00 to "roll" at WAGS. I'm going to see today what kind of deal I can come up with to get my hubby a new razor.

Happy Shopping!

CVS-ING

2009-02-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, well I got spunky and decided to try out CVS-ing today. Of course I got all my ideas on Southern Savers or one of the other sites so none of this is original, but I made out pretty well. I am almost embarrassed to post the photo-in fact my husband couldnt believe I was going to do it but here it is:

YES, its K-Y Yours+Mine!!!! Come on yall, we ARE adults here! And, I am a MARRIED woman :D!! Plus, I basically got the stuff for a dollar, so I figured what the heck ~grins~

Anyway, I kind of see this week as my getting into the swing of things week. I am not quite up to speed on exactly how to work the system, but this is what I spent:

Total before coupons/sales: 43.24

Total out of pocket: 14.47

Total Savings: 28.87

PLUS: 10.00 in Extra Bucks for my next visit!

so, its like I got all that for 4.47 not too bad for my first visit!

Savings this week

2009-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

I guess I should also post my totals for this week (I CANT BELIEVE IT!)

Total before savings: 134.78
Total out of pocket: 56.76
Total Savings: 78.02

Let me also add-I didnt buy anything I can't or don't use, only the things I regularly need! This is my 2nd week of REALLY trying to do the coupon thing. I am pretty proud of myself, and soooo grateful to the ladies who inspired me to do this - Cortni and Jessalee! Love you girls!

Getting Hooked!

2009-01-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am getting hooked on the couponing thing! Thanks alot Jessalee!!! LOL!

Really though, its not what I thought when I started out. I've used coupons in the past and the savings just didn't add up to enough to fool with it-so I would lose enthusiasm after a few weeks. This time though, taking the tutorials I found from jumping off links on Jessalee's site, I have started to really understand the trick to this thing! And its addicting!

I haven't restricted myself to a budget yet while I am still learning and trying to get my coupons stored up-I just started getting the paper on 1/18 and have printed just about everything I knew I could use off the internet. I still think I am doing pretty good! Today I went shopping at Publix and got these items: (forgive the incorrect date stamp at the bottom :D)

I don't have the patience to list everything and all my coupons, but the totals are:

Price before savings: 84.48

Total out of pocket: 34.82

Savings of: 49.66

These totals are over 2 transactions at Publix-here's why: I had 2 coupons for 2.00 off Garnier Fructis hair products from WalGreens and Publix had shampoo and conditioner for 2.50! so 50cents for Shampoo/conditioner!! WOW!! I was so excited about that deal I got on the Garnier Fructis that I went over to WAGS and got 4 more coupon books and went back and bought another shampoo/conditioner and the 2 styling products!

Now that's a savings!! YIPPEEE!! So, do you see now why this is addicting? Jessalee told me it was like a strategy game and thats a perfect description. I could talk/write about this for HOURS! I sure wish I could get this fired up about dieting!

2009-01-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

ok, so this is my first posting of savings-today I made a trip to Madison to go to Kroger because I'd seen their commercial about the mega sale. I wound up only getting some boneless skinless chicken breast and lean cuisine-I am planning to go back by there over the weekend because I didnt realize HOW GOOD a deal the lean cuisine was!! So all in all here's my total from Kroger:

Total before savings- 40.33

Total after card : 18.97

savings 21.36

not bad for not even using coupons! wish we still had a Kroger store in Athens!

I also bought some makeup at Publix, I had some cover girl coupons and I knew they had the 2.00 off in their green saver catalog- plus had a great windfall while I was there! I was looking for some lip/nail stuff (basically anything that would add up to around what my coupons would save me) and there was a 40% off selected lip/nail items laying there beside the lip gloss. So I went and asked which items were in the sale, and eventually a manager came and said the tag was from last week but since it was still laying there, they would give me 40% off any lip/nail items I purchased! Too bad I am not a huge fan of lip/nail or I could have really racked up! I wound up getting 2 polishes and one of those long lasting lip colors.

total before savings: 9.97
total out of pocket 2.97
savings: 7.00

all total today I saved 28.36 and I am not done yet!
YIPPEEEEEE
many thanks to Jessalee for all the help! You rock girlie!

YAY!

2009-01-30T04:57:00.001-08:00

It worked!

Learning new things!

2009-01-30T04:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my friend Jessalee(savingmomma) has the most awesome layout on her blog which of course made me want to try something different. I went out and searched layouts and found this one. I really like it but I am still not sure how to use some elements-not even sure this post will make it onto the page, but hey the point is I am trying!